rank Thomas’ lifelong passion has been the rules governing golf equipment. For more than 25 years, Thomas served as technical director of the USGA, where he oversaw the testing of clubheads, shafts, grips, balls and other accessories of the

game. Together with Valerie Melvin, Thomas has crafted From Sticks and Stones, a book detailing the complicated history of equipment regulation, with the goal of helping future decision-makers. What comes through is an abiding respect for the USGA and its role, along with a deep concern for equipment review process. In the forward, Thomas states, “This book is dedicated to the two organizations for which I have the utmost respect and which have been a significant part of my life. Without the USGA and R&#38;A the game would be rud- derless and mankind would suffer. To the United States Golf Associa- tion and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve the game I love so much.”

Chapter 4 Making the Rules

T

ransatlantic divisions form just one of the

political currents that affect the rule-making effort. The contrasts and tensions between the professional staff and the political ad- ministrators of the USGA are an ongoing source of amusement and frustration, depending on the day. We’ve seen already the

development of the “Let the balls fly” principle, as well as the tendency for the rules to reflect the preferences of particular individuals on the committee. All too often, I found, the members of the Executive Committee or chairman or the I&#38;B (Implements and Balls) committee simply did not understand the technical issues involved in making the decisions within their purview. The I&#38;B chair- men often had neither a

sound grasp of the technical standards being adopted nor of why the standards were important. If you don’t understand the question, you’re unlikely to come up with an answer that does much good. The USGA Test Center is under the direction of its Senior Technical Director, who reports to the Execu- tive Director. The research- ers who work there are very capable of doing excellent studies and drawing appropriate conclusions from well-analyzed data. Too often, though, their efforts are harnessed to someone’s political agenda that stems from skimpy anecdotal evidence. The “ball goes too far”

hysteria is the most visible example of this. Pro V1s and their ilk are not longer balls than the solid-core distance balls of previous generations. They meet the ODS and did so before the ODS was rewritten to express the standard at a higher clubhead speed. What is new about them is that their multiple covers make them acceptable to professional players who want more spin and softer feel on their shorter shots. The distance potential was always there, if ever a professional was willing to play Pinnacles. Combined with the springlike effect of titanium-faced drivers, the multi-covered solid ball is close to a perfect product, and thus a perfect storm for panicky administrators. In a prior generation,

the Great Dimple Race led some committee members to suggest we place a limit on the indentations permit-